Message to Attorney General Chris Koster: “Defend the Law”

It is the duty of the attorney general to defend laws passed by the general assembly. But will Attorney General Chris Koster defend the new SB 749 law?

A suit has been filed in Cole County Circuit Court seeking a permanent injunction against the new SB 749 law. The suit claims the SB 749 law is pre-empted by federal law, namely, the contraceptive mandate issued by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) in February. The argument is without merit and here is why.

The HHS mandate itself violates federal law. Numerous lawsuits have been filed against the mandate because of its violation of the religious freedom provisions of the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. Meanwhile, the HHS mandate is nothing more than a bureaucratic rule and its requirement that all health plans cover abortion drugs and contraceptives was never authorized by Congress when that body passed the Affordable Care Act (ACA).